The greatest Adventure Game of all time...

[Glorfindel]

  I never do "greatest ever" lists because I know I would always just include my favorites or the first game I played.  Really, the majority of the  adventuregames I have played have been at least fairly enjoyable and alot of them are really good.

  As for my "favorite" list.  It always changes.

  1. King's Quest V (I just really like the feel of the game and all the different locations and the excitement of it... honestly I'm not as big of a fan of VI and its locations and characters, although I do understand why so many others like it)

  2. Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (probably just because I like Trek, but it truly captures the feel of the original series with its "episodes" and has the entire cast and some really great stories... the sequel is good as well)

  3. Space Quest III (this game is a blast, first played it with an old Tandy that actually had a spoken line in the intro, and back then it was amazing... all of the different planets and fun puzzles and sequences, it really could be my favorite games and is definately my favorite Space Quest game, although I enjoy them all and Space QUest IV is in my top 15)

  4. King's Quest IV  (the night sequence where you dig up the graves is one of my favorite, if not my VERY favorite, adventure gaming sequences ever, I enjoyed everything about this game... except for the whale puzzle... I may like it as much as King's Quest V)

  5.  Colonel's Bequest (simply love the mood and creepy feel of the game, as well as the "open-endedness" to it... you just keep discovering more and more each time you play it)


Alot of other games could easily be in my top five too.  Myst, Monkey Island 1 and 2, an old Sherlock Holmes game by EA (case of the serrated scalpel I believe it was), Gabriel King: Sins of the Father, Quest for Glory 2, Grim Fandango...

  Unlike alot of people, I've also enjoyed newer adventure games.  Murder on the Orient Express (with the voice of David Suchet, the definitive Poirot!) and "And Then There Were None" are two adventure games I really enjoyed, as well as some of the Nancy Drew Games.  I guess I just like adventure games.

[Intense Degree]

For me:

1. Gabriel Knight 1 - the game that is so good even 8 different mouse icons to scroll through doesn't ruin it!

2. Broken Sword 1 - Amazing story/music/art

3. Kings Quest VI - the game that made me fall in love with adventure games

[ALPHATT]

LSL5, Police Quest 1 VGA, Sam&Max HTR, DOTT, Gold Rush!, Freddy Pharkus, Flight of The Amazon Queen,Indiana Jones and The Fate of Atlantis, Zack McKracken, BASS,Monkey Island 2, Discworld 2 Missing Presumed...?!/Mortality Bytes

These are the games I consider best of the best but theres a lot more very decent adventure games out there

[alex]

BASS without a doubt is the greatest adventure game of all time.  I could connect with the whole cyberpunk jaded future vision, because I don't personally buy into the theory that more technology = happier world.  A big plus was that it's set in Australia, my home country, though the fosters beer references were a bit stereotypical it felt more authentic than other games with American / European pop culture references.  The dry humor was balanced just right.  The scope was there for sequels which sadly never occurred.  The backstory had the right balance of tragedy and hope and enough loose ends to make me want more in the end.  How was life out in the gap?  Could we ever visit the gap?  I think the carictatured disparity between the rich elite and the filthy masses was slightly over the top, but it was kind of cute in a way.  Also, having too many questions magically answered at the end was a bit droll, like, they could have kept some mystery surrounding Roberts childhood and death of his mother.  Saying "Oh it was all just the fault of a mad computer, now it's all fixed thanks to these meddling kids" was too much of a happy ending.

But still...  It is the best adventure game of all time, for me.  I think only Monkey Island 2 / 3, DOTT, and Simon the Sorcerer come close, for wildly different reasons.

Those are my picks.

[Wesray]

It's almost too hard for me to choose one game, but if I had to it would probably be
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis: Possibly my favorite adventure game ever. Loved the hard but fair puzzles, the gripping story, the interesting locations, the beautiful music, the characters, the crackling dialog between Indy and Sophia... you even had three quite different different paths to choose from. Also, it really feels like Indiana Jones, much more so than the dreadful fourth movie.

Runner Ups:
Gabriel Knight Trilogy: The first one is nearly flawless to me, but the other two are very, very good too. The storylines and characters are the best I have ever witnessed in an adventure game. Jane Jensen is a genius.
Monkey Island 1: Again I love the whole series. But the first one will always have a special place in my heart and is to me the quintessential Monkey Island. The later ones were sometimes almost too silly.

Honorable Mentions:
ZakMcKracken And The Alien Mindbenders: After Maniac Mansion the second adventure game I ever played and I loved this one even more. I think my brother and I needed years for actually solving it, but in the end we suceeded. There was so much freedom and exploration in that game, you don't get that anymore.
Day of the Tentacle: Loved the wacky characters, the humour, the mind-frying puzzles and especially the three different time levels. My favorite fun-adventure!
Black Mirror: A modern classic with great, great atmosphere. The characters are quite weak and I didn't care for the ending. But other than that I loved the game. Perfect puzzles, pacing and mystery.

AGS favourite:
The Ben Jordan Series: There are many AGS games I played and thoroughly enjoyed, but in terms of obsession Ben Jordan wins by default. The first few games were ok, but as the series proceeded its charm became apparant. The stories got much more interesting and I especially came to like the characters and their interactions. After the cliffhanger for case 7 I can hardly wait for the last game. Splendid work, Grundislav!

[Cuiki]

GK3, sanitarium. and myst, of course (i've played 1, 2 & 3 so far, but i believe the other two won't dissapoint me either)

[perfectpixel]

Oh, this is very difficult. I can't name just one, but I'll name some of my all-time favs:

Myst! (of course)
The Crystal Key (some people HATE this game. I LOVE it!)
Monkey Island 1 (didn't like the second one as much)
The Lost Crown (though it was created with the worst enemy of AGS: WINTERMUTE ENGINE!)
Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars
King's Quest (the whole series except number eight. I never played it and I hear it sucks.)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

[Duztie]

Must be The Dig because of the atmosphere and the mature themes. Also the graphics and the music. So well done!! Other than that, Zak Mckracken. But mostley because it was the first point and click adventure i ever played (on my amiga 600), and holds a special place in my heart

[Stee]

Unfortunately I can't name one favourite game.

Although my essentials would be:

Monkey Island series (1-3)
Broken Sword 1&2
Space Quest 6 (The only other one I played was IV and I really thought it was a let down)
Full Throttle
Day of the Tentacle
Blade Runner

Everything else just simply didn't cut the mustard, although I enjoyed larry 5 and 6 (I think it was those 2), I suffered a walking dead in one of them (you leave a walking dead in a commercial game, I'm not going to complete it).

The "Mum do farts have lumps in them?" award goes to Phantasmagoria. I remember not being allowed anywhere near it when my dad was playing it as a kid, and eventually talking him into letting me play it when I was about 13 (what the hell he was thinking I don't know. I got to chapter 4 I think, and got so scared I didn't even want to play the thing. I remember 7th guest (and there was a sequel 11th hour I think), but I never got to play those.

Gabriel Knight is one of those I missed. Apperently the first one is so rare its a collectors item now. Im not  sure whether it was the first one or the 3rd one I played (I know the 3rd one is still in the cabinet at my folks house) but It never really gripped me. Some bullshit story about a werewolf or something at the start and I lost interest.

I'm probably one of the few people that never completed Grim Fandango. I probably will one day, but the thing that pissed me off about that game was the fact that they went through the effort to make it 3d, yet didn't spend the time on the control system, making it a mess to play. Otherwise it was a pretty good game.

To me, Myst was a load of bollocks. I think it was the photo style they incorporated into the game, I couldn't get to grips with it.

I have tons of games to get through that I've just never played. Syberia 1 and 2 (I saw syberia was made in virtools which put me off slightly), and The longest Journey games (ie TLJ and Dreamfall). I should also probably consider the sam and max episodic stuff too, I played a few of them and I didn't think the episodic style worked (some of them work well, some of them seem more like they're there to fill the story) The original was awesome, however having seen what's happening with the monkey island series now, I'm tempted the spend my time on other things.

Also, I have never played The Dig, does that make me less of a person  

EDIT: I forgot Blade Runner, How could I forget Blade Runner?

[mecano]

1 - Monkey Island 1&2

2 - Sam&Max

3 - Loom

4 - Countdown

5 - Willy Beamish

[mikdog]

1. Sam & Max: Hit the Road
2. Final Fantasy VII
3. Indiana Jones and FOA
4. DOTT
5. Grim Fandango
5. The Dig I guess

Thing is I was young and I played these games with spoiler guides just so I could see the artwork and didn't get the puzzles. Doh. So I guess I missed out.

I'm looking to find the cheapest place to buy Monkey Island 1 & 2. Anyone know? eBay?

Also, I was such a fan of Sam & Max that I flew from South Africa to visit ComiCon in San Diego to meet Steve Purcell, the creator of the characters. Was great. Also went to a talk with Dave Grossman. Must say, I played the first episodic Sam & Max and didn't grab me. There's something about those old blocky textures, man. In plain ol' 2D.

[die_to_xxx]

1  -  Beneath a Steel Sky
2  -  The Dig
3  -  Loom
4  -  Leisure Suit Larry 6 (though I loved them all)
5  -  Simon the Sorcerer

If companies would make more games like BASS and The Dig, I would be a HAPPY HAPPY GAMER.
Most serious adult oriented games please, preferably with cyberpunk-esque themes!!

[Patternjake]

In terms of origanility- I would have to give the mark to Beneath a Steel Sky. Especially Joey- he ROCKED, so funny and clever haha!

Mind you, the Monkey Island series comes close.

[gholamghar]

1-day of tentacle
2-Curse of monkey island
3-Grim Fandango
4-broken sword 2

[TheRoger]

Monkey Island 2 I guess, though it didn't had insult sword fight, from new ones it would be Ghost Pirates of Vooju Island, and tales of MI came out pretty well to me 

[gracenakimurafan]

Freeware: The Ben Jordan series AGS
Commercial: Gabriel Knight, Broken Sword

[Knox]

My top 5:

1) Police Quest 3
2) Space Quest 4
3) Police Quest 1 EGA or VGA
4) Gabriel Knight 1
4) Space Quest 6

[Gravity]

You people disappoint me! I've only read a few pages but very sad to see no IF games given love. So I'll do it some justice. Zork - A blast from the past. Blue Lucuna - An innovation of the evolution of IF. My favorite two IF games of the past and present. They don't get much better than these two in my opinion. When you can create a game(adventure) that entertains without the need for graphics, sound/music, and animations -then you my friend- are doing something right.

[Sslaxx]

You people disappoint me! I've only read a few pages but very sad to see no IF games given love. So I'll do it some justice. Zork - A blast from the past. Blue Lucuna - An innovation of the evolution of IF. My favorite two IF games of the past and present. They don't get much better than these two in my opinion. When you can create a game(adventure) that entertains without the need for graphics, sound/music, and animations -then you my friend- are doing something right.

"Blue Lacuna" is Interactive Fiction, as are most of the Zork games (the latter three of that series being the exception there - certainly I feel both Nemesis and Grand Inquisitor are excellent adventure games).

[Gravity]

You people disappoint me! I've only read a few pages but very sad to see no IF games given love. So I'll do it some justice. Zork - A blast from the past. Blue Lucuna - An innovation of the evolution of IF. My favorite two IF games of the past and present. They don't get much better than these two in my opinion. When you can create a game(adventure) that entertains without the need for graphics, sound/music, and animations -then you my friend- are doing something right.

"Blue Lacuna" is Interactive Fiction, as are most of the Zork games (the latter three of that series being the exception there - certainly I feel both Nemesis and Grand Inquisitor are excellent adventure games).

Interactive Fiction is a form of adventure games. A game does not have to be graphical in order to be counted as an adventure game. 'In common usage, the term refers to text adventures, a type of adventure game where the entire interface is "text-only".'